Chinese He Wenna surrendering her title
LONDON (GBR), AGU Office, August 4, 2012: The world silver medallist saw off the challenge of defending champion He Wenna of China, who lost control at the end of her routine and claimed bronze, with team-mate Huang Shanshan taking silver.
MacLennan scored 57.305 in the final, 0.575 marks clear of Huang, with favorite He 1.355 marks back.
MacLennan, who had only qualified for the final in fourth place, admitted she surprised herself after posting a huge score of 57.305 that neither of the two Chinese gold medal hopefuls, Huang Shanshan and He Wenna, was subsequently able to match. He, the defending champion and first-placed qualifier, had appeared on course to overtake her but, in a dramatic conclusion, fell at the end of her routine.
It is just the right time to secure Canada’s first Gold medal of the 2012 Olympics in Saturday’s Women’s Trampoline final.
‘I’m pretty happy, I did a good performance,’ MacLennan said.
‘I always believed that everything was possible, but I was just focusing on my routines. I didn’t want to get ahead of myself, because that’s when you make mistakes.
‘This was definitely the highest score I’ve ever gotten, but I didn’t wanted to get ahead of myself before the Chinese had to compete.
‘Nothing matches that experience. It has not fully sunk in yet.’
That score increased the pressure on the Chinese and they failed to respond. Huang scored 56.730, and He fell at the end of her routine, suffering a 1.5 point penalty and surrendering her title in the process.
“When Shanshan finished I didn’t hear that much cheering so I knew she hadn’t got the Gold so the pressure increased for me,” said He, the reigning World Champion. Her fall left her with a score of 55.950, third behind Huang who managed 56.730. “It was a technical problem, it is because the height was not enough for the landing. I was a bit nervous.”
Her team-mate Shanshan was satisfied with a Silver medal to add to the Bronze she won at Athens 2004. “In my first Olympics I succeeded. In my second, I failed and this year, my third, I fulfilled my expectations and got a medal.” Shanshan, 26, also confirmed this would be her last Olympics as she switches her focus to studying physical education.
